Work Program
LAB AND MUNICIPAL PARKING STUDY—Phase ii
February 15, 2024
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) votes to approve this work program.
Boston Region MPO Planning Studies and Technical Analyses
Boston Region MPO
Principal: Rosemary McCarron
Manager: Sophie Fox
MPO Planning Contract and MPO §5303 Contract 123114
Schedule and budget details are shown in Exhibits 1 and 2, respectively.
The Boston Region MPO elected to fund this study with its federally allocated metropolitan planning funds during federal fiscal year (FFY) 2024. The work completed through this study will address the following goal area(s) established in the MPO’s Long-Range Transportation Plan: equity, access and connectivity, clean air and healthy communities, and mobility and reliability.
The Boston region is experiencing a boom in laboratory and life sciences development. The life sciences industry in the region is not only growing in terms of its workforce and the number of new developments, but it has begun to spread from longstanding centers such as Kendall Square in Cambridge to a diverse set of areas across the region. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) have heard from numerous stakeholders, especially municipal planners, across the region that there is a need for rigorous research to determine parameters for parking regulation for such developments. In FFY 2023, CTPS and MAPC collaborated on the Lab and Municipal Parking Study Phase I, a research study to assess regional parking supply and utilization at commercial and mixed-use developments, with a particular focus on lab and life science facilities. MAPC and CTPS will expand upon this work by collecting parking supply and utilization data at lab and life science facilities across the region.
CTPS and MAPC will schedule and perform pilot data collection at three or more lab properties in the Boston region. This will involve collaborating with property developers, property managers, transportation management associations, municipal planners, and others.
CTPS will send out an online survey created in Phase I to property managers of a limited number of lab facilities. The purpose of this survey is to gather detailed information about the characteristics of the property and its tenants, the types of parking available at the site, the observed parking utilization patterns, and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies that have been implemented.
After the property manager surveys are completed, data collectors will collect parking counts at the chosen properties. The time of day and day of week will be chosen based on the information provided by the property managers.
Based on the results from the online surveys, the on-site parking counts, and reports from the data collectors, the data collection methodology will be adjusted and refined in preparation for large-scale data collection.
Pilot data collection results
Revised data collection materials/strategies
The online survey will be distributed widely to property managers throughout the Boston region. The results from the survey will not only be instrumental in the culminating analysis, but also will be useful in determining lab locations for on-site data collection.
Labs will be chosen for data collection that are of varying size, in a wide range of locations, and with varying access to public transportation. The selected locations will be a subset of the online survey participants.
Data collectors will be sent into the field to conduct parking counts. In addition to the number of occupied parking spots at each location, they will record the different types of parking spots provided and the different types of vehicles present.
Completed property manager surveys
Completed data collection sheets
Once CTPS has completed the online surveys and on-site data collection, staff will perform two analyses. These analyses will be based off the work done for MAPC’s Perfect Fit Parking Study.
CTPS will produce descriptive summary statistics of the data collected. These statistics may include parking supply per property/tenant, parking utilization, the relationship between these variables, as well as data broken down by municipality or transit access.
For the second analysis, CTPS will work to determine which variables most strongly influence parking utilization. Factors that will be explored include those about the building and its tenants, the surrounding environment, transit accessibility and TDM strategies, and parking supply.
Completed data analysis
CTPS will produce a technical memorandum that summarizes the results of the analysis and provides recommendations for stakeholders to reference when determining parking provision at lab and life science facilities. The findings will be presented to the MPO board and will be made publicly available.
Technical memorandum
| Task |
Month | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
1.
Pilot Data Collection |
From Month 1, Week 1 to Month 1, Week 4.
Deliverable
A
Delivered by Month 1, Week 4.
|
||||||
2.
Data Collection |
From Month 2, Week 1 to Month 4, Week 4.
Deliverable
B
Delivered by Month 4, Week 4.
|
||||||
3.
Analysis of Data |
From Month 4, Week 1 to Month 6, Week 4.
Deliverable
C
Delivered by Month 6, Week 4.
|
||||||
4.
Document Production |
From Month 6, Week 1 to Month 7, Week 4.
Deliverable
D
Delivered by Month 7, Week 4.
|
||||||
| Task | Person-Weeks by Pay Grade | Direct Salary | Overhead (120.3%) | Total Cost | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G-8 | G-6 | G-2 | G-1 | Total | ||||
1.
Pilot Data Collection
|
0.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.4 | $1,807 | $2,173 | $3,980 |
2.
Data Collection
|
0.1 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 5.9 | 7.3 | $6,978 | $8,394 | $15,372 |
3.
Analysis of Data
|
0.1 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.1 | $8,602 | $10,348 | $18,949 |
4.
Document Production
|
0.1 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.1 | $2,996 | $3,604 | $6,599 |
Total
|
0.3 | 10.0 | 0.3 | 6.2 | 16.8 | $20,382 | $24,519 | $44,900 |
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) operates its programs, services, and activities in compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and related statutes and regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs and requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency), be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal assistance. Related federal nondiscrimination laws administered by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, or both, prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, and disability. The Boston Region MPO considers these protected populations in its Title VI Programs, consistent with federal interpretation and administration. In addition, the Boston Region MPO provides meaningful access to its programs, services, and activities to individuals with limited English proficiency, in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation policy and guidance on federal Executive Order 13166. The Boston Region MPO also complies with the Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law, M.G.L. c 272 sections 92a, 98, 98a, which prohibits making any distinction, discrimination, or restriction in admission to, or treatment in a place of public accommodation based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or ancestry. Likewise, the Boston Region MPO complies with the Governor's Executive Order 526, section 4, which requires that all programs, activities, and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, disability, veteran's status (including Vietnam-era veterans), or background. A complaint form and additional information can be obtained by contacting the MPO or at http://www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination. To request this information in a different language or in an accessible format, please contact Title VI Specialist By Telephone: For people with hearing or speaking difficulties, connect through the state MassRelay service:
For more information, including numbers for Spanish speakers, visit https://www.mass.gov/massrelay. |